International Self-Care Day lands on July 24, and the date is a small joke with a point: self-care should work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The deeper point is harder. Real self-care is not a bubble bath or a face mask. It is the ordinary, often boring work of keeping yourself well, and for a lot of people the most effective version of it happens in a room with other people.
When it is and why it matters
International Self-Care Day is observed on July 24 each year. It was promoted by the International Self-Care Foundation to highlight the daily habits that protect health, from sleep and movement to managing stress and staying connected to other people. The 24/7 framing is the whole idea: self-care is not a single day off, it is a practice you keep up.
The thing about self-care is that the wellness industry has gutted the word. It got sold back to us as a candle and a price tag. What I’d push on is the version that actually moves the needle on mental health, and that one is rarely something you buy. It is sleep you protect, food you do not skip, and connection you do not let slide when life gets busy. That last piece is where groups come in.
What does the research say about self-care and mental health?
Self-care, in the clinical sense, means the things people do on their own to maintain health and manage conditions. The World Health Organization treats it as a serious part of health systems, not a luxury. And the connection piece has strong backing. Social isolation and loneliness carry health risks on the order of well-known physical ones, and the US Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory laid out that loneliness raises the risk of depression, anxiety, and early death (Office of the Surgeon General, 2023).
This is why I am wary of self-care advice that is all solo. Journaling is fine. So is a walk. But for people who are genuinely struggling, the highest-yield form of self-care is often the one that feels hardest: letting other people in. Group-based support has a long evidence base for reducing isolation and improving mood, and a large review of group therapy found it works about as well as individual therapy for many concerns (Burlingame et al., 2016). The mechanism is not mysterious. People feel less broken when they see they are not the only one.
One more honest note. Self-care has a structural ceiling. You cannot meditate your way out of a job with no sick days or a care system that fails you. We find that the people who most need rest are often the ones with the least room for it. So when self-care advice starts to sound like one more thing you are failing at, that is a sign the advice is wrong, not you.
Groups for self-care and connection in our directory
A support group is a small group of people who meet regularly, in person or online, to work on something together with the help of a peer leader or a licensed clinician. For self-care, the value is built in: a group puts a standing appointment on your calendar that is just for your wellbeing, and it is a lot harder to skip a commitment to other people than a commitment to yourself.
You can browse stress and wellbeing groups in our directory, or search for whatever is sitting heaviest right now, anxiety, burnout, grief, or just feeling stretched too thin. We list groups across all 50 states, and you do not need an account to look.
How do you build self-care that actually sticks?
Pick one thing, not ten. The most common self-care mistake I see is the all-at-once overhaul that collapses by week two. Better to protect a single anchor, a regular bedtime, one walk, one group meeting, and let the rest build from there.
If connection is the piece you keep dropping, make it the anchor. A weekly group is self-care with a deadline. Not sure where to start? Our guide on how to find a support group near you walks through the search, and our breakdown of the types of support groups helps you match a format to what you need. If cost is the worry, peer support groups are usually free, and many listings note sliding-scale options.
Other resources
If you are in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For free education and peer programs, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a strong starting point, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) runs a 24/7 treatment locator at 1-800-662-4357. If money is the barrier to care, ask any provider about sliding-scale fees before you rule yourself out.
Frequently asked questions
What is International Self-Care Day?
International Self-Care Day is observed on July 24 each year. The date, 7/24, points to self-care as a 24/7, 7-days-a-week practice rather than a one-off. It was promoted by the International Self-Care Foundation to highlight the everyday habits that protect physical and mental health, including sleep, movement, stress management, and staying connected to other people.
Is self-care actually good for mental health, or is it hype?
Both, depending on what you mean. The marketing version, where self-care is a product, is mostly hype. The clinical version, protecting sleep, managing stress, and keeping social connection, has real evidence behind it. The US Surgeon General has warned that loneliness raises the risk of depression, anxiety, and early death, which is why connection-based self-care tends to matter more than anything you can buy.
How is a support group a form of self-care?
A support group turns self-care into a standing commitment. It puts a regular appointment on your calendar that exists only for your wellbeing, and showing up for other people is easier to sustain than showing up for yourself alone. Groups also reduce isolation directly, which research ties to lower depression and anxiety. For many people, it is the most effective self-care habit available.
What if I do not have time or money for self-care?
That is a real constraint, not an excuse. Self-care has a structural ceiling, and no amount of personal effort fixes a system with no sick days or no affordable care. Start small and free where you can: one protected habit, one free peer support group, one honest conversation. If self-care advice makes you feel like you are failing, the advice is the problem, not you.
How do I find a group that fits my self-care goals?
Search The Group Guide directory for what is weighing on you most, such as stress, burnout, anxiety, or grief, and filter for online or in-person meetings near you. You can browse across all 50 states without an account. If you are not sure what type of group fits, our comparison guides break down peer support versus clinician-led groups and the main support group formats.
References
Burlingame, G. M., Seebeck, J. D., Janis, R. A., Whitcomb, K. E., Barkowski, S., Rosendahl, J., & Strauss, B. (2016). Outcome differences between individual and group formats when identical and nonidentical treatments, patients, and doses are compared: A 25-year meta-analytic perspective. Psychotherapy, 53(4), 446–461.
Office of the Surgeon General. (2023). Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation: The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
A note on what we do (and don’t)
The Group Guide is a directory. Group leaders write their own listings, and we do not vet, supervise, or endorse the groups listed here. We are not a clinic and we do not provide clinical services or guarantee outcomes, that is the group’s work, not ours. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.